Genetic methods for speciating Campylobacter

ABSTRACT

The phylogeny of twelve  Campylobacter  species was determined based on partial (1020-bp) gyrB gene sequences. Methods have been described for detection and speciation of  Campylobacter , including 16S rRNA sequence analysis. However, gyrB provides a better resolution than the 16S rDNA gene for  Campylobacter  species with interspecies sequence similarities ranging from 58.3 to 89.2% compared to those reported for the 16S rRNA gene (ranging from 89 to 99%). A universal primer set, designed to amplify a 900-bp fragment of the gyrB gene in  Campylobacter  spp., was developed and used for PCR-RFLP of 19 strains representing twelve  Campylobacter  species and resulted in unique digest patterns for all twelve  Campylobacter  species. PCR assays for amplification of regions of the gyrB gene specific for each  Campylobacter  species were also developed. Using these PCR and PCR-RFLP methods results in unambiguous identification of the majority of  Campylobacter  species.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

This invention relates to the gyrase B gene which encodes for the subunit B protein of DNA gyrase, a type II topoisomerase that catalyzes the negative supercoiling of bacterial DNA, sequence polymorphisms in the Campylobacter gyrB gene, and species-specific PCR (polymerase chain reaction) assays and PCR-RFLP (PCR-restriction fragment length polymorphism) using the restriction enzymes DdeI and XspI for differentiation of Campylobacter species, and a method of speciating Campylobacter.

2. Description of the Relevant Art

Campylobacter spp. are the most common cause of bacterial gastrointestinal infection in the United States, Japan, and other developed nations. Infections have the highest incidence in infants, young children, and in adults 20 to 40 years of age. Travel to developing countries is a major risk factor for acquiring Campylobacter infections. The majority of human infections due to Campylobacter spp. are sporadic or occur in small family clusters rather than large outbreaks, rendering identification of sources of infection through epidemiological investigations difficult. There are numerous animal reservoirs for Campylobacter spp., including cattle, sheep, poultry, and swine; however, the major animal source for sporadic infections is poultry (Corry et al. 2001. J. Appl. Microbiol. 90:96S-114S; Manning et al. 2003. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 69: 6370-6379; Nielsen, E. M. 2002. Lett. Appl. Microbiol. 35: 85-89). A recent population-based, case-control study conducted by Friedman et al. (2004. Clin. Infect. Dis. 38 (Suppl 3): 285-296) indicated that consuming poultry, particularly prepared in restaurants, is a major risk factor for sporadic human Campylobacter infection in the U.S. Household pets, including dogs and cats, are also a source of Campylobacter infections (Damborg et al. 2004. J. Clin. Microbiol. 42: 1363-1364; Moser et al. 2001. J. Clin. Microbiol. 39: 2548-2557). In addition to animal sources, contaminated vegetables and shellfish have also been linked with Campylobacter infection (Altekruse et al. 1994. J. Am. Vet. Assoc. 204: 57-61; Jacobs-Reitsma, W. 2000. In: Campylobacter, Nachamkin and Blaser, eds., ASM Press, Washington, D.C., pages 467-481), and contaminated water supplies have been implicated in point-source outbreaks (Goossens et al. 1995. J. Infect. Dis. 172: 1298-1305; Hanninen et al. 2003. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 69: 1391-1396).

The genus Campylobacter consists of 16 species and six subspecies (On, S. L. W. 2001. J. Appl. Microbiol. 90: 1S-15S). Some species mainly cause disease in animals, including cattle, swine, sheep, dogs, and cats (Lastovica et al. 2000. In: Campylobacter, Nachamkin and Blaser, eds., ASM Press, Washington, D.C., pages 89-120). The thermophilic species, C. jejuni, C. coli, C. lari, and C. upsaliensis, but in particular C. jejuni, account for the majority of human infections; however, other species have been linked with diarrheal illness, periodontal disease (C. concisus, C. gracilis, C. rectus, and C. showae), meningitis, and septicemia in humans (Lastovica et al., supra). As examples, C. lari was associated with a water-borne outbreak of gastroenteritis (Borczyk et al. 1987. Lancet 1: 164-165), C. upsaliensis caused an outbreak in four day care centers in Brussels, affecting 44 children (Goossens et al., supra), C. jejuni and C. fetus subsp. fetus caused an outbreak associated with raw milk in individuals who attended a banquet in Wisconsin (Klein et al. 1986. JAMA 255: 361-364), and a number of different species have been isolated from stools of diarrheic patients (Lastovica et al., supra). Because of technical limitations in current cultural and phenotypic methods employed for detection, isolation, and typing of Campylobacter, non-jejuni species are likely under-reported in clinical specimens. Further research is needed to identify sources of infection, routes of transmission, and disease syndromes associated with non-jejuni Campylobacter species.

A number of methods have been described for detection and speciation of Campylobacter, including 16S rRNA sequence analysis (Gorkiewicz et al. 2003. J. Clin. Microbiol. 41: 2537-2546) and PCR-based assays for detection of single species or for species differentiation based on rRNA genes (Junior et al. 2003. Pesqui. Odontol. Bras. 17: 142-146, 21). Real-time PCR assays using fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) probes targeting 16S rRNA sequences in Campylobacter spp. followed by melting peak analysis were used for detection and identification of different species (Logan et al. 2001. J. Clin. Microbiol. 39: 2227-2232). A reverse hybridization line probe assay based on use of species-specific probes targeting a putative GTPase could distinguish C. jejuni, C. coli, C. lari, and C. upsaliensis (van Doorn et al. 1999. J. Clin. Microbiol. 37: 1790-1796). On and Harrington (2000. FEMS Microbiol. Lett. 193: 161-169) distinguished Campylobacter species using an amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP)-based technique. However, the complex nature of the AFLP patterns that were generated rendered interpretation of results difficult, and the high cost of the equipment required may preclude the use of this technique in many research laboratories. Recently, Mandrell et al. (2005. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 71: 6292-6307) described a method for speciating C. coli, C. jejuni, C. helveticus, C. lari, C. sputorum, and C. upsaliensis using matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-time of flight mass spectrometry. A PCR-microarray method based on PCR amplification of Campylobacter species-specific genes and rRNA regions followed by hybridization to immobilized probes has been developed (Kerama et al. 2003. Mol. Cell Probes 17: 187-196; Volokhov et al. 2003. J. Clin. Microbiol. 41: 4071-4080).

Restriction enzyme analysis of PCR amplicons, known as PCR-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP), is a useful tool for molecular characterization of food-borne pathogens, including differentiation of thermophilic campylobacters (Engvall et al. 2002. J. Appl. Microbiol. 92: 47-54) After amplification, the PCR product is digested using one or more restriction enzymes to produce fragments of specific sizes based on the DNA sequence of the gene. The PCR-RFLP technique based on the flagellar flaA and/or flaB genes has been used for speciation and subtyping of Campylobacter strains (Harrington et al. 2003. J. Appl. Microbiol. 95: 1321-1333; Koenraad et al. 1995. Epidemiol. Infect. 115: 485-494; Stern et al. 1997. Avian Dis. 41: 899-905). Intra- and inter-genomic recombination of the flaA and flaB genes, however, may contribute to the variability seen when this method is used (Harrington et al. 1997. J. Clin. Microbiol. 35: 2386-2392). The development of genotypic methods with the ability to precisely discriminate among the different species of Campylobacter is essential for effective monitoring and surveillance to determine the prevalence of these organisms in the environment and for defining the epidemiology of human infections.

The gyrase B gene encodes for the subunit B protein of DNA gyrase, a type II topoisomerase that catalyzes the negative supercoiling of bacterial DNA. Yamamoto and Harayama (1995. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 61: 1104-1109) found that the frequency of base substitutions in gyrB was higher than that of 16S rRNA within the species Pseudomonas putida, thus gyrB has a higher ability than 16S rRNA to distinguish bacterial species within a genus. Species identification and detection methods based on gyrB have been developed for Bacillus spp. and Vibrio spp. (Venkateswaren et al. 1998. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 64: 681-687; Yamada et al. 1999. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 65: 1483-1490). There exists a need for specific primers and methods capable of specifically identifying and differentiating pathogenic Campylobacter species.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

We have discovered oligonucleotide sequences which are capable of identifying sequence polymorphisms in the Campylobacter gyrB gene and differentiating closely related pathogenic Campylobacter species when used in simple and rapid species-specific PCR assays and PCR-RFLP.

In accordance with this discovery, it is an object of the invention to provide species-specific primers for PCR and PCR-RFLP for the specific detection and identification of closely related pathogenic Campylobacter species.

It is a further object of the invention to provide species-specific PCR assay methods and PCR-RFLP methods for utilizing the novel primers.

It is a still further object of the invention to provide a kit for use in the detection and differentiation of closely related Campylobacter species.

Other objects and advantages of this invention will become readily apparent from the ensuing description.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows a dendrogram of Campylobacter strains calculated from data for 1020 bp of the gyrB gene using the neighbor-joining method. Bar, 0.1 changes per nucleotide position.

FIG. 2 shows the amplification fragments of the Campylobacter gyrB gene using a universal PCR mixture consisting of primers shown in Table 3. C. jejuni (lane 1), C. coli (lane 2), C. concisus (lane 3), C. curvus (lane 4), C. showae (lane 5), C. mucosalis (lane 6), C. fetus (lane 7), C. hyointestinalis (lane 8), C. sputorum (lane 9), C. helveticus (lane 10), C. upsaliensis (lane 11), and C. lari (lane 12). Lane M, 100-bp molecular size markers.

FIG. 3 depicts the PCR-RFLP (DdeI) patterns of C. jejuni (lane 1), C. coli (lane 2), C. concisus (lane 3), C. curvus (lane 4), C. showae (lane 5), C. mucosalis (lane 6), C. fetus (lane 7), C. hyointestinalis (lane 8), C. sputorum (lane 9), C. helveticus (lane 10), C. upsaliensis (lane 11), and C. lari (lane 12). Lane M, 100-bp molecular size markers.

FIG. 4 depicts the PCR-RFLP (XspI) patterns of C. jejuni (lane 1), C. coli (lane 2), C. concisus (lane 3), C. curvus (lane 4), C. showae (lane 5), C. mucosalis (lane 6), C. fetus (lane 7), C. hyointestinalis (lane 8), C. sputorum (lane 9), C. helveticus (lane 10), C. upsaliensis (lane 11), and C. lari (lane 12). Lane M, 100-bp molecular size markers.

FIG. 5 depicts the PCR-RFLP (MboI and HindIII) patterns of C. jejuni (lane 1), C. coli (lane 2), C. concisus (lane 3), C. curvus (lane 4), C. showae (lane 5), C. mucosalis (lane 6), C. fetus (lane 7), C. hyointestinalis (lane 8), C. sputorum (lane), C. helveticus (lane 10), C. upsaliensis (lane 11), and C. lari (lane 12). Lane M, 100-bp molecular size markers.

FIG. 6 depicts products obtained following Campylobacter species-specific PCR assays. C. jejuni (lane 1), C. coli (lane 2), C. concisus (lane 3), C. curvus (lane 4), C. showae (lane 5), C. mucosalis (lane 6), C. fetus (lane 7), C. hyointestinalis (lane 8), C. sputorum (lane 9), C. helveticus (lane 10), C. upsaliensis (lane 11), and C. lari (lane 12). Lane M, 100-bp molecular size markers.

FIG. 7 depicts the species-specific identification of Campylobacter species. Each lane represents results of PCR assays using one set of primers and DNA from each of the twelve Campylobacter spp. C. jejuni primers (lane 1), C. coli (lane 2), C. concisus (lane 3), C. curvus (lane 4), C. showae (lane 5), C. mucosalis (lane 6), C. fetus (lane 7), C. hyointestinalis (lane 8), C. sputorum (lane 9), C. helveticus (lane 10), C. upsaliensis (lane 11), and C. lari (lane 12). Lane M, 100-bp molecular size markers.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The unambiguous identification of Campylobacter species is difficult because these pathogens are slow growing, fastidious organisms, which display few differential phenotypic properties (On, S. L. W. 1996. Clin. Microbiol. Rev. 9: 405-422.). Conventional classification methods for Campylobacter, Arcobacter, and Helicobacter species include phenotypic tests, for example, based on antibiotic resistance analysis, growth requirements, and biochemical tests. These tests often give ambiguous results and cannot be applied for identification of new or atypical species of campylobacters.

Alternatively, molecular techniques can be applied for typing and detection of microorganisms. Gorkiewicz et al. (supra) reported on the utility of 16S rDNA sequencing for identification of Campylobacter species. DNA sequencing for species identification is not practical because the cost is too high, and data analysis is somewhat complex. Therefore, we focused on the application of direct PCR and PCR-RFLP for the unambiguous identification of Campylobacter species based on the gyrB gene sequence analysis. The PCR is rapid, easy to perform, and is relatively inexpensive for practical use. Yamamoto and Harayama (supra) proposed use of the gyrB gene as a molecular taxonomic marker for bacterial species. The gyrB gene is a housekeeping gene and essential for DNA replication. This gene is present as a single copy on the bacterial genome, while the 16S rRNA genes are usually present as multiple copies in bacteria.

The major topology of the phylogenetic neighbor-joining tree constructed from the partial gyrB gene sequences used in this study was similar to the previously reported one constructed from the 16S rRNA gene sequences (Gorkiewicz et al., supra). However, gyrB provides higher resolution for Campylobacter species, with lower interspecies sequence similarities (ranging from 58.3 to 89.2%) compared to those reported for the 16S rRNA gene (ranging from 89 to 99%) (Gorkiewicz et al., supra). C. fetus subsp. fetus and C. fetus subsp. venerealis strains shared identical gyrB gene sequences, however, suggesting that gyrB may not be a suitable marker for Campylobacter identification at the subspecies level, Gorkiewicz et al. (supra) reported that the limitation of 16S rDNA analysis is the inability to differentiate C. jejuni and C. coli strains and atypical C. lari strains; both species shared identical 16S rRNA gene sequences, and nearly all strains of these taxa were assigned to a common cluster. The investigators commented that since C. jejuni, C. coli, and atypical C. lari are important pathogens, it is important to be able to differentiate these species. Since 16S rDNA analysis is not suitable to differentiate these species, other methods such as the PCR or methods based on phenotypic characteristics must be employed. On the contrary, our gyrB gene sequence analysis discriminated these three species. The strains of C. jejuni examined in the current study shared identical sequences and were clearly distinct from C. coli, though the two species had the highest similarity (89.2%) among the 12 Campylobacter species studied. Moreover, C. lari was positioned distinct from other species in the phylogenetic tree. These results further support the superiority of the gyrB gene over the 16S ribosomal DNA gene for Campylobacter species identification. It is noteworthy that the C. fetus and C. hyointestinalis strains tested had a 3-bp insertion different from other species in the same position of the gyrB gene (823-825), which resulted in an amino acid addition in the protein sequence.

We designed the gyrB universal primer sets for PCR-RFLP typing of 12 Campylobacter species to ensure a high Tm (above 58° C. for 30 bases) and to amplify a 900-bp region in the gyrB gene in all of the species. The PCR conditions were optimized to achieve an ample amount of target amplicon for RFLP analysis (FIG. 2). PCR-RFLP analysis with DdeI or XspI displayed species-specific discrimination (FIGS. 3 and 4); however, DdeI could not discriminate between C. concisus and C. sputorum, since strains of both species generated fragments of 368 and 532 bp. Thus, if DdeI is chosen as the restriction enzyme for PCR-RFLP analysis of a presumptive Campylobacter isolate and fragments of 368 and 532 are generated, XspI could then be used to determine if the isolate is C. concisus or C. sputorum. Alternatively, a double digestion using MboI and HindIII can also be used to distinguish all of the Campylobacter species (FIG. 5).

The gyro sequencing data made it possible to design species-specific primer sets for rapid detection and identification of Campylobacter species by direct PCR. The resulting species specific primers gave only the predicted sizes of the corresponding gyrB gene amplicons from target species (FIG. 6). The primer sequences were selected from gyrB regions of each species with mismatches of at least 7 bases with the gyrB gene sequence in the other species. Finally, highly species-specific identification by PCR was achieved due to the use of high annealing temperatures (65 to 69° C.) and the optimization of the MgCl₂ concentration.

Karenlapi et al. (2004. J. Clin. Microbiol. 42: 5731-5138) demonstrated that partial groEL sequencing and PCR-RFLP analysis had higher capability for Campylobacter species-specific identification than analysis based on 16S rRNA. In the current study, we demonstrated that partial gyrB gene sequencing, PCR-RFLP analysis, and direct PCR analysis with species-specific primer sets were applicable to unambiguously distinguish 12 Campylobacter species. The PCR-RFLP analysis relies on the presence of restriction recognition sites in the PCR amplified sequence. Therefore, the possibility that the results will be affected by errors that may occur during PCR amplification and the occurrence of spontaneous mutations in the target gene always exists. Campylobacter species identification can be confirmed by using the direct PCR method when a different PCR-RFLP profile pattern might appear in the future.

In conclusion, we sequenced a region of the gyrB gene in 12 Campylobacter species and developed PCR-RFLP and direct PCR assays, which should be more suitable for Campylobacter species identification than similar analyses based on the 16S rRNA gene. gyrB gene sequence information will be helpful in taxonomic studies of novel Campylobacter species. As new species of Campylobacter are discovered, the gyrB gene can be sequenced, and PCR primer sets specific for the new species can be designed. We are currently sequencing the gyrB gene of C. gracilis, C. rectus, C. hominis, and C. lanienae, and PCR and PCR-RFLP assays to detect and discriminate these species will be developed, as well. We believe that these methods will provide a very useful system for the rapid detection and unambiguous identification of Campylobacter species, which can replace the time-consuming conventional methods requiring use of laborious phenotypic and biochemical analyses. Further studies are needed to confirm the utility of the PCR-RFLP and direct PCR assays developed in this study for identification of Campylobacter species isolated from food, animal, and environmental samples.

As used herein, the terms “nucleic acid molecule”, “nucleic acid sequence”, “polynucleotide”, and “polynucleotide sequence” are used interchangeably herein. These terms encompass nucleotide sequences and the like. A polynucleotide may be a polymer of RNA or DNA that is single- or double-stranded and that optionally contains synthetic, non-natural or altered nucleotide bases. A polynucleotide in the form of a polymer of DNA may be comprised of one or more segments of cDNA, genomic DNA, synthetic DNA, or mixtures thereof.

The term “isolated” polynucleotide refers to a polynucleotide that is substantially free from other nucleic acid sequences, such as other chromosomal and extrachromosomal DNA and RNA, that normally accompany or interact with it as found in its naturally occurring environment. However, isolated polynucleotides may contain polynucleotide sequences which may have originally existed as extrachromosomal DNA but exist as a nucleotide insertion within the isolated polynucleotide. Isolated polynucleotides may be purified from a host cell in which they naturally occur. Conventional nucleic acid purification methods known to skilled artisans may be used to obtain isolated polynucleotides. The term also embraces recombinant polynucleotides and chemically synthesized polynucleotides.

As used herein, “Restriction Fragment Length of Polymorphism” (RFLP) is a technique in which organisms may be differentiated by analysis of patterns derived from cleavage of their DNA. If two organisms differ in the distance between sites of cleavage of a particular restriction endonuclease, the length of the fragments produced will differ when the DNA is digested with a restriction enzyme. The similarity of the patterns generated can be used to differentiate species and strains from one another. PCR can be used to amplify very small amounts of DNA to the levels required for RFLP analysis and is herein referred to as PCR-RFLP.

As used herein, “recombinant” refers to a nucleic acid molecule which has been obtained by manipulation of genetic material using restriction enzymes, ligases, and similar genetic engineering techniques as described by, for example, Sambrook et al. 1989. Molecular Cloning: A Laboratory Manual, Second Edition, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press, Cold Spring Harbor, NY or DNA Cloning: A Practical Approach, Vol. I and II (Ed. D. N. Glover), IRL Press, Oxford, 1985. “Recombinant,” as used herein, does not refer to naturally occurring genetic recombinations.

As used herein, the term “express” or “expression” is defined to mean transcription alone. The regulatory elements are operably linked to the coding sequence of the gene such that the regulatory element is capable of controlling expression of the gene.

As used herein, the terms “encoding”, “coding”, or “encoded” when used in the context of a specified nucleic acid mean that the nucleic acid comprises the requisite information to guide translation of the nucleotide sequence into a specified protein. The information by which a protein is encoded is specified by the use of codons. A nucleic acid encoding a protein may comprise non-translated sequences (e.g., introns) within translated regions of the nucleic acid or may lack such intervening non-translated sequences (e.g., as in cDNA).

The term “operably linked” refers to the association of two or more nucleic acid fragments on a single nucleic acid fragment so that the function of one is affected by the other. For example, a promoter is operably linked with a coding sequence when it is capable of affecting the expression of that coding sequence (i.e., that the coding sequence is under the transcriptional control of the promoter). Coding sequences can be operably linked to regulatory sequences in sense or antisense orientation.

“Regulatory sequences” refer to nucleotide sequences located upstream (5′ non-coding sequences), within, or downstream (3′ non-coding sequences) of a coding sequence, and which influence the transcription, RNA processing or stability, or translation of the associated coding sequence.

“Promoter” refers to a nucleotide sequence capable of controlling the expression of a coding sequence or functional RNA. In general, a coding sequence is located 3′ to a promoter sequence.

“RNA transcript” refers to the product resulting from RNA polymerase-catalyzed transcription of a DNA sequence. When the RNA transcript is a perfect complementary copy of the DNA sequence, it is referred to as the primary transcript or it may be an RNA sequence derived from posttranscriptional processing of the primary transcript and is referred to as the mature RNA. “Messenger RNA (mRNA)” refers to the RNA that is without introns and that can be translated into polypeptides by the cell. “cDNA” refers to a DNA that is complementary to and derived from an mRNA template. The cDNA can be single-stranded or converted to double stranded form using, for example, the Klenow fragment of DNA polymerase I. “Sense” RNA refers to an RNA transcript that includes the mRNA and so can be translated into a polypeptide by the cell. “Antisense”, when used in the context of a particular nucleotide sequence, refers to the complementary strand of the reference transcription product.

“protein” or “polypeptide” is a chain of amino acids arranged in a specific order determined by the coding sequence in a polynucleotide encoding the polypeptide. Each protein or polypeptide has a unique function.

The term “substantially pure” as used herein refers to a polypeptide that is substantially free of other proteins, lipids, carbohydrates or other materials with which it is naturally associated. One skilled in the art can purify the protein using standard techniques for protein purification. The purity of the polypeptide can also be determined by amino-terminal amino acid sequence analysis.

As used herein, “substantially similar” refers to nucleic acid fragments wherein changes in one or more nucleotide bases results in substitution of one or more amino acids, but do not affect the functional properties of the polypeptide encoded by the nucleotide sequence. “Substantially similar” also refers to modifications of the nucleic acid fragments of the instant invention such as deletion or insertion of nucleotides that do not substantially affect the functional properties of the resulting transcript. It is therefore understood that the invention encompasses more than the specific exemplary nucleotide or amino acid sequences and includes functional equivalents thereof. Alterations in a nucleic acid fragment that result in the production of a chemically equivalent amino acid at a given site, but do not affect the functional properties of the encoded polypeptide, are well known in the art.

Moreover, substantially similar nucleic acid fragments may also be characterized by their ability to hybridize. Estimates of such homology are provided by either DNA-DNA or DNA-RNA hybridization under conditions of stringency as is well understood by those skilled in the art (1985. Nucleic Acid Hybridization, Hames and Higgins, Eds., IRL Press, Oxford, U.K.). As used herein, the term “hybridization” is used in reference to the pairing of complementary nucleic acids using any process by which a strand of nucleic acid joins with a complementary strand through base pairing to form a hybridization complex. Hybridization and the strength of hybridization (i.e., the strength of the association between the nucleic acids) is impacted by such factors as the degree of complementarity between the nucleic acids, stringency of the conditions involved, the thermal melting point (Tm) of the formed hybrid, and the G:C ratio within the nucleic acids. Stringency conditions can be adjusted to screen for moderately similar fragments, such as homologous sequences from distantly related organisms, to highly similar fragments, such as genes that duplicate functional enzymes from closely related organisms. Thus, isolated sequences that encode a gyrB polypeptide and which hybridize under stringent conditions to the gyrB sequences disclosed herein, or to fragments thereof, are encompassed by the present invention.

Substantially similar nucleic acid fragments of the instant invention may also be characterized by the percent identity of the amino acid sequences that they encode to the amino acid sequences disclosed herein, as determined by algorithms commonly employed by those skilled in this art.

Methods of alignment of sequences for comparison are well known in the art. Thus, the determination of percent identity between any two sequences can be accomplished using a mathematical algorithm. Non-limiting examples of such mathematical algorithms are the algorithm of Myers and Miller (1988. CABIOS 4:11-17), the local homology algorithm of Smith et al. (1981. Adv. Appl. Math. 2:482); the homology alignment algorithm of Needleman and Wunsch (1970. J. Mol. Biol. 48:443-453); the search-for-similarity-method of Pearson and Lipman (1988. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. 85:2444-2448; the algorithm of Karlin and Altschul (1990. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 87:2264), modified as in Karlin and Altschul (1993. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 90:5873-5877).

Computer implementations of these mathematical algorithms can be utilized for comparison of sequences to determine sequence identity. Such implementations include, but are not limited to: CLUSTAL in the PC/Gene program (available from Intelligenetics, Mountain View, Calif.); the ALIGN program (Version 2.0) and GAP, BESTFIT, BLAST, FASTA, and TFASTA in the Wisconsin Genetics Software Package, Version 8 (available from Genetics Computer Group (GCG), 575 Science Drive, Madison, Wis., USA). Alignments using these programs can be performed using the default parameters.

Unless otherwise indicated, sequence alignments and percent identity calculations were performed using the Megalign program of the LASERGENE bioinformatics computing suite (DNASTAR Inc., Madison, Wis.), or any equivalent program. Multiple alignment of the sequences was performed using the Clustal W method of alignment (Higgins and Sharp (1989. CABIOS 5:151-153) with the default parameters (GAP PENALTY=10, GAP LENGTH PENALTY=1.0), while default parameters for pairwise alignments using the Clustal W method were GAP PENALTY=10, GAP LENGTH PENALTY=1.0, Slow-Accurate unless otherwise indicated.

As used herein, “sequence identity” or “identity” in the context of two nucleic acid or polypeptide sequences makes reference to the residues in the two sequences that are the same when aligned for maximum correspondence over a specified comparison window. When percentage of sequence identity is used in reference to proteins, it is recognized that residue positions which are not identical often differ by conservative amino acid substitutions, where amino acid residues are substituted for other amino acid residues with similar chemical properties (e.g., charge or hydrophobicity) and therefore do not change the functional properties of the molecule.

As used herein, “percentage of sequence identity” means the value determined by comparing two optimally aligned sequences over a comparison window, wherein the portion of the polynucleotide sequence in the comparison window may comprise additions or deletions (i.e., gaps) as compared to the reference sequence (which does not comprise additions or deletions) for optimal alignment of the two sequences. The percentage is calculated by determining the number of positions at which the identical nucleic acid base or amino acid residue occurs in both sequences to yield the number of matched positions, dividing the number of matched positions by the total number of positions in the window of comparison, and multiplying the result by 100 to yield the percentage of sequence identity.

As used herein, “reference sequence” is a defined sequence used as a basis for sequence comparison. A reference sequence may be a subset or the entirety of a specified sequence; for example, as a segment of a full-length cDNA or gene sequence, or the complete cDNA or gene sequence.

The term “substantial identity” of polynucleotide sequences means that a polynucleotide comprises a sequence that has at least 80% sequence identity, preferably at least 85%, more preferably at least 90%, most preferably at least 95% sequence identity compared to a reference sequence using one of the alignment programs described using standard parameters. Preferably, optimal alignment is conducted using the homology alignment algorithm of Needleman et al. (1970. J. Mol. Biol. 48:443).

Another indication that nucleotide sequences are substantially identical is if two molecules hybridize to each other under stringent conditions. Generally, stringent conditions are selected to be about 5° C. lower than the thermal melting point (Tm) for the specific sequence at a defined ionic strength and pH. The Tm is the temperature at which a population of double-stranded nucleic acid molecules becomes half dissociated into single strands (the mid-point). The equation for calculating the Tm of nucleic acids is well known in the art (See Nucleic Acid Hybridization, 1985, supra). As used herein, the term “stringency” is used in reference to the conditions of temperature, ionic strength, and the presence of other compounds such as organic solvents, under which nucleic acid hybridizations are conducted. As stated above, “stringency” typically occurs in a range from about 5° C. below the Tm of the specific sequence to about 20° C. to 25° C. below TM, depending upon the desired degree of stringency as otherwise qualified herein. As will be understood by those of skill in the art, a stringent hybridization can be used to identify or detect identical polynucleotide sequences or to identify or detect similar or related polynucleotide sequences.

A “substantial portion” of an amino acid or nucleotide sequence comprises an amino acid or a nucleotide sequence that is sufficient to afford putative identification of the protein or gene that the amino acid or nucleotide sequence comprises. Amino acid and nucleotide sequences can be evaluated either manually by one skilled in the art, or by using computer-based sequence comparison and identification tools that employ algorithms such as BLAST. In general, a sequence of ten or more contiguous amino acids or thirty or more contiguous nucleotides is necessary in order to putatively identify a polypeptide or nucleic acid sequence as homologous to a known protein or gene. Moreover, with respect to nucleotide sequences, gene-specific oligonucleotide probes comprising 30 or more contiguous nucleotides may be used in sequence-dependent methods of gene identification and isolation. In addition, short oligonucleotides of 12 or more nucleotides may be use as amplification primers in PCR in order to obtain a particular nucleic acid fragment comprising the primers. As used herein, the term “primer” refers to an oligonucleotide, whether occurring naturally as in a purified restriction digest or produced synthetically, which is capable of acting as a point of initiation of synthesis when placed under conditions in which synthesis of a primer extension product which is complementary to a nucleic acid strand is induced (i.e., in the presence of nucleotides and an inducing agent such as DNA polymerase and at a suitable temperature and pH). The primer is preferably single stranded for maximum efficiency in the amplification, but may alternatively be double stranded. If double stranded, the primer is first treated to separate its strands before being used to prepare extension products. The exact lengths of the primers will depend on many factors, including temperature, source of primer and the use of the method. Accordingly, a “substantial portion” of a nucleotide sequence comprises a nucleotide sequence that will afford specific identification and/or isolation of a nucleic acid fragment comprising the sequence. The instant specification teaches amino acid and nucleotide sequences encoding polypeptides that comprise a particular protein. The skilled artisan, having the benefit of the sequences as reported herein, may now use all or a substantial portion of the disclosed sequences for purposes known to those skilled in this art.

By “variants” substantially similar sequences are intended. For nucleotide sequences, conservative variants include those sequences that, because of the degeneracy of the genetic code, encode the amino acid sequence of the gyrB polypeptide of the invention. Naturally occurring allelic variants such as these can be identified with the use of well-known molecular biology techniques, as, for example, with PCR.

EXAMPLES

Having now generally described this invention, the same will be better understood by reference to certain specific examples, which are included herein only to further illustrate the invention and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention as defined by the claims.

Example 1 Bacterial Strains

The sequences of the gyrB gene from a total of 19 strains of various species of Campylobacter were analyzed: 4 strains of C. jejuni (Table 1) and also C. jejuni RM1221 Acc. No. NC_(—)003912 and C. jejuni subsp. jejuni NCTC 11168, Acc. No. NC_(—)002163; C. coli NADC 5085 (National Animal Disease Center, Ames, Iowa); C. concisus ATCC 33237 (American Type Culture Collection, Manassas, Va.); C. curvus ATCC 35224; C. showae ATCC 51146; C. mucosalis ATCC 49352; C. fetus subsp. fetus ATCC 15296 and C. fetus NADC 5513; C. fetus subsp. venerealis NADC 5519; C. hyointestinalis ATCC 35217; C. sputorum biovar sputorum ATCC 33562; C. helveticus ATCC 51210; C. upsaliensis ATCC 49816; and C. lari ATCC 35221. These strains and other bacterial strains used in this study for determining the specificity of the PCR assays are listed in Table 1.

TABLE 1 Bacterial strains. Strain designation/ Bacterial strain source C. jejuni subsp. jejuni ATCC^(a) 33250 C. jejuni NADC^(b) 2682 C. jejuni NADC 5523 C. jejuni NADC 2812 C. jejuni NADC 5096 C. coli NADC 2681 C. coli NADC 5095 C. coli ATCC 33559 C. lari NADC 1945 C. lari NADC 3517 C. lari ATCC 35221 C. concisus ATCC 33237 C. curvus NADC 3221 C. curvus ATCC 35224 C. mucosalis NADC 3213 C. mucosalis NADC 3214 C. mucosalis NADC 3262 C. mucosalis ATCC 49352 C. fetus NADC 5513 C. fetus fetus ATCC 15296 C. fetus fetus NADC 436 C. fetus fetus NADC 1251 C. fetus fetus NADC 1254B C. fetus venerealis ATCC 19438 C. fetus venerealis NADC 5519 C. hyointestinalis NADC 2262 C. hyointestinalis ATCC 35217 C. showae ATCC 51146 C. sputorum NADC 4033 C. sputorum fecalis NADC 5533 C. sputorum biovar sputorum ATCC 33562 C. rectus NADC 3237 C. rectus ATCC 33238 C. hominis ATCC BAA-381 C. helveticus NADC 5532 C. helveticus ATCC 51210 C. upsaliensis NADC 5525 C. upsaliensis ATCC 49816 C. upsaliensis ATCC 49815 C. gracilis ATCC 33236 H. pullorum NADC 5535 H. cholecystus NADC 6910 H. felis NADC 6891 H. cinaedi NADC 3207 H. cinaedi ATCC BAA-76 H. fennelliae NADC 3211 H. fennelliae ATCC 35683 H. bizzozeroni NADC 6893 H. bizzozeroni NADC 6894 H. muridarum NADC 6895 H. muridarum NADC 6892 H. pametensis NADC 6900 H. nemestrina NADC 6904 H. mustelae NADC 3229 H. canis NADC 6899 H. bilis NADC 6897 H. bilis NADC 6896 H. pylori NADC 3222 H. rappini NADC 6915 H. mustelae NADC 3229 A. cryaerophilus NADC 3252 A. cryaerophilus NADC 2710 A. butzleri NADC 3545 A. butzleri NADC 3255 A. butzleri ATCC 49616 A. skirrowii NADC 3706 A. skirrowii NADC 3699 A. skirrowii NADC 3704 E. coli O157:H7 380-94 FSIS^(c) E. coli O157:H7 C984 CDC^(d) E. coli O157:H7 B1409-C1 CDC S. Typhimurium H3278 CDC S. Typhimurium G7601 CDC S. Enteritidis H3527 CDC S. Enteritidis H3526 CDC Bacteroides ureolyticus NADC 3167 ^(a)ATCC—American Type Culture Collection, Manassas, VA. ^(b)NADC—National Animal Disease Center, Ames, IA. ^(c)FSIS—USDA, Food Safety and Inspection Service, Washington, DC. ^(d)CDC—Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA.

Example 2 PCR Amplification and Sequencing of the Campylobacter gyrB Gene

Campylobacter strains obtained from the ATCC were grown according to conditions specified by the ATCC. Genomic DNA from these strains and from the E. coli and Salmonella strains listed in Table 1 was extracted using the PrepMan Ultra Reagent (Applied Biosystems, Foster City, Calif.) according to the manufacturer's instructions. DNA from strains obtained from the NADC listed in Table 1, graciously provided by Dr. Irene Wesley (USDA, ARS, NADC), had been purified by cesium chloride density gradient ultra-centrifugation and stored at −20° C.

PCR amplification of the gyrB gene for direct sequencing of the PCR products was performed using a GeneAmp 9700 thermal cycler (Applied Biosystems). The universal primer set for PCR amplification of ca. 1,250 bp (1253 or 1256 bp) of the gyrB gene region from all strains was 5′-TAA TAC GAC TCA CTA TAG GGG TCG ACC AVG CNG GNG GNA ART TYG A-3′ (SEQ ID NO:1; T7-FWD; T7 promoter sequence attached to 5′-end is underlined) and 5′-GAT TTA GGT GAC ACT ATA GCT CGA GCC RTC NAC RTC NGC RTC NGT CAT-3′ (SEQ ID NO:2; SP6-REV; SP6 promoter sequence attached to 5′-end is underlined.). One μl of the nucleic acid sample was PCR-amplified in a 100-μl reaction volume containing 1×PCR buffer, 4 mM MgCl2, 0.625 U rTaq DNA polymerase (Takara Bio Inc., Shiga, Japan), 0.2 mM each of the 4 dNTPs, and 0.4 μM of each primer. The cycling conditions were the following: initial denaturation at 95° C. for 5 min, followed by 95° C. for 1 min, annealing at 60° C. for 1 min, and extension at 72° C. for 1 min for 30 cycles. The PCR products were gel-purified after 1.0% (w/v) agarose (Takara Bio Inc., Shiga, Japan) gel electrophoresis using the QIAquick Gel Extraction kit as recommended by the manufacturer (Qiagen, Inc., Valencia, Calif.). Both strands of the purified PCR products were subjected to the cycle sequencing reaction using the ABI PRISM dye terminator cycle sequencing kit (Applied Biosystems). Products were resolved on an ABI Prism 310 automated sequencer (Applied Biosystems). The primers used for DNA sequencing were: 5′-TAA TAG GAC TCA CTA TAG GGG TCG AC-3′ (SEQ ID NO:3; T7kai), 5′-GAT TTA GGT GAC ACT ATA GCT CGA G-3′(SEQ ID NO:4; SP6kai). DNA sequences were determined from both strands by extension from the attached-promoter (T7kai and SP6kai primers) sequences and by primer walking.

The gyrB sequences of C. fetus fetus (ATCC 15296), C. fetus (NADC 5513), C. fetus Venerealis (NADC 5519) and C. hyointestinalis (ATCC 35217) had a 3-base insertion in position 823-825 in comparison with the same region in the other Campylobacter species. The gyrB DNA sequences of Helicobacter species from the GeneBank database were compared to the Campylobacter sequence data by multiple alignment analysis; considerable differences were observed (data not shown). For example, similarities in the gyrB gene sequence ranged from 38 to 48% between Campylobacter species and Helicobacter pylori. These data suggest that the gyrase B gene of Campylobacter is superior to the 16S-rDNA gene for species discrimination.

Example 3 Phylogenetic Analysis of DNA Sequences

To evaluate whether differences in gyrB sequences could be employed to reliably discriminate among Campylobacter species, it was necessary to quantify the interspecies gyrB DNA sequence variation. The gyrB sequences of 12 species of Campylobacter were aligned using the DNASYS Pro program (Version 2.0) (Hitachi, Tokyo, Japan). The data were used as input for phylogenetic analysis using the neighbor-joining method (Saito and Nei. 1987. Mol. Biol. Evol. 4: 406-425) and the CLUSTAL W program (Tompson et al. 1994. Nucleic Acids Res. 22: 4673-4680) in the DDBJ (DNA Data Bank of Japan) website (www.ddbj.nig.ac.jp/Welcome-e.html). Multiple alignments of 12 Campylobacter gyrB sequences were performed, and a matrix representing the sequence variations among the strains analyzed was calculated. Subsequently, a dendrogram was constructed from these data (FIG. 1). Analysis of the dendrogram showed that all 12 Campylobacter species were clearly differentiated in the constructed phylogenetic tree. The major topology of the tree based on the partial gyrB gene sequences was similar to one previously reported based on 16S rDNA gene sequence analyses (Gorkiewicz et al., supra).

The similarity analysis of the partial gyrB gene sequences among Campylobacter species is shown in Table 2. The similarities of the gyrB DNA sequences among species ranged from 58.3 to 89.2%, while 6 strains of C. jejuni shared identical gyrB gene sequences (data not shown). There was at least 10% interspecies gyrB sequence variation among Campylobacter species within the 1020-bp sequenced region studied. The gyrB gene DNA variations were not adequate to discriminate between the subspecies of C. fetus; there was no sequence difference between C. fetus subsp. fetus and C. fetus subsp. venerealis. There was, however, a 4-base difference without any amino acid sequence changes between C. fetus (GenBank accession number: AY330106) and C. fetus subsp fetus (ATCC 15296).

TABLE 2 Similarity comparison of Campylobacter species gyrB gene sequences Similarity (%) Strain 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 1 C. jejuni NADC^(a) 5096 100.0 89.2 65.0 60.3 63.4 64.1 69.0 66.5 66.9 79.0 77.7 82.8 2 C. coli NADC 5095 100.0 66.8 60.6 64.6 62.3 70.8 69.4 69.8 82.0 80.1 82.6 3 C. concisus ATCC^(a) 33237 100.0 76.5 79.8 75.7 72.8 72.9 66.8 63.2 61.2 65.1 4 C. curvus ATCC 35224 100.0 78.0 76.4 70.2 68.8 62.5 60.7 58.7 58.3 5 C. showae ATCC 51146 100.0 75.6 68.9 72.2 60.5 63.8 63.2 59.9 6 C. mucosalis ATCC 49352 100.0 72.6 71.7 66.2 63.5 64.3 65.1 7 C. fetus fetus ATCC 15296^(b) 100.0 84.0 71.9 68.1 64.7 72.4 8 C. hyointestinalis ATCC 35217 100.0 67.7 64.7 62.2 68.7 9 C. sputorum biovar sputorum 100.0 66.1 63.5 71.2 ATCC 33562 10 C. helveticus ATCC 51210 100.0 85.6 76.7 11 C. upsaliensis ATCC 49816 100.0 77.0 12 C. lari ATCC 35221 100.0 ^(a)NADC, National Animal Disease Center; ATTC, American Type Culture Collection, ^(b)There was no sequence difference between C. fetus NADC 5513 and C. fetus venerealis NADC 5519.

Example 4 Species-Specific Identification by PCR-RFLP

The gyrB sequence data of the different Campylobacter spp. were analyzed from a sequence dissimilarity matrix table and by plotting of the Tm value calculated using the nearest-neighbor method. A universal primer mix (Table 3), prepared using primers complementary to the gyrB sequence of each species, was used to amplify a 900 bp gyrB fragment from each Campylobacter strain.

One μl of DNA template was amplified in a 100-μl reaction volume containing 1×PCR buffer, 2 mM MgCl₂, 0.625 U rTaq (Takara) DNA polymerase, 400 mM of each of the four dNTPs, and the universal primer mixture consisting of 10 nM of each primer in the 12 primer sets (Table 3). The cycling conditions consisted of an initial denaturation at 95° C. for 10 min, followed by 50 cycles of denaturation (95° C. for 15 sec), annealing (65° C. for 1 min), and extension (72° C. for 1 min), with a final 7 min extension at 72° C. The resulting 900-bp PCR products were gel purified after 1% agarose gel electrophoresis as described above. For RFLP analysis, the purified PCR products were digested in a total volume of 20 μl with 5 U or 10 U of DdeI (Toyobo, Osaka, Japan) or XspI (Takara), respectively. The resulting fragments were separated using 6.0% agarose (Agarose X, NipponGene, Tokyo, Japan) prepared in 1× Tris-acetate-EDTA buffer. The gels were stained with the SYBR Green I dye (Invitrogen, Carlsbad, Calif.) as described by the manufacturer, and PCR products were visualized under UV light.

TABLE 3 Primers used in amplification of a 900-bp gyrB gene sequence. Universal mix primer Universal mix primer (forward) (reverse) C. jejuni SEQ ID NO: 5 SEQ ID NO: 6 NADC^(a) 5096 CGTGAAGAATTTTGAGAAGGTAAAGTTATC TATAGCTTGGAAAGATCTTTCCCTACCTTG C. coli SEQ ID NO: 7 SEQ ID NO: 8 NADC 5095 CGCCAAGAATTTTCAGAAGGTAAAGTCATC TATAGCTTGAAAAGATCTTTCTCTACCTTG C. concisus SEQ ID NO: 9 SEQ ID NO: 10 ATCC^(a) 33237 AGACAAGAATTTGCAAAAGGTATCCCTGAA AATCGCTTGAAAAGATCTTTGTCTTCCTTG C. curvus SEQ ID NO: 11 SEQ ID NO: 12 ATCC 35224 AGGCAAGAATTTCAAAAAGGTATCCCGGTA TATCGCCTGAAAAACTCTATCACGTCCTTG C. showae SEQ ID NO: 13 SEQ ID NO: 14 ATCC 51146 AGACAAGAATTTTCAAAAGGTATCCCTCAA GATCGCCTGAAATACGCGGTCGCGTCCTTG C. mucosalis SEQ ID NO: 15 SEQ ID NO: 16 ATCC 49352 AGGCAAGAATTTGCAAAAGGAATTCCAGTA AATCGCTTGAAATACTCTATCGCGTCCTTG C. fetus fetus SEQ ID NO: 17 SEQ ID NQ: 18 ATCC 15296 CGTCAAGAGTTTTCAAAAGGAATACCCCAA AATCGCTTGAAACACACGGTCACGACCCTG C. hyointestinalis SEQ ID NQ: 19 SEQ ID NO: 20 ATCC 34217 CGCCAAGAATTGGCGGAAGGCATACCTCAA AATCGCTTGAAACGCTCTATCACGACCTTG C. sputorum SEQ ID N0: 21 SEQ ID NO: 22 sputorum AGACAAGAGTTTTCAAAAGGTGTTCCTACA TATCGCTTGAAATGCTCTATCACGACCTTG ATCC 33562 C. helveticus SEQ ID NO: 23 SEQ ID NO: 24 ATCC 51210 AGACAAGAATTTTCTAAAGGTCTAATTGCA GATGGCTTGAAAAACTCTATTTCTACCTTG C. upsaliensis SEQ ID NO: 25 SEQ ID NO: 26 ATCC 49816 CGCCAAGAATTTGGTAAAGGGCAAATAGCT AATCGCTTGAAAAGCCCTTTCACGCCCCTG C. lari SEQ ID NO: 27 SEQ ID NO: 28 ATCC 35221 AGACAAGAATTTTCAGAAGGAAAAGTAACA AATAGCTTGAAAAGTTCTTTCTCTACCTTG ^(a)NADC, National Animal Disease Center; ATTC, American Type Culture Collection.

PCR amplification using the universal primer mix generated products of the expected size of 900-bp from each Campylobacter strain (FIG. 2). Computational restriction fragment length analyses of the 900-bp amplified region predicted that the DdeI, Hpy188III, and XspI enzymes would generate species-specific digestion patterns. However, Hpy188III was not used in this study because this enzyme can be affected by dam (DNA adenine methylase) and CpG methylation of DNA. In fact, we had difficulty in obtaining reproducible data in RFLP analysis with Hpy188III, since the digestion conditions were difficult to control for this restriction enzyme. It required a low salt concentration in the reaction because of its requirement for bovine serum albumin, which is necessary for enzyme stability. Therefore, only DdeI and XspI were selected for PCR-RFLP analysis in this study. Digestion using either of these two enzymes was expected to generate many fragments less than 200-bp; therefore, 6% agarose gel electrophoresis was used for PCR-RFLP analysis. The PCR RFLP results using DdeI and XspI are shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, respectively. Use of 6% agarose gels demonstrated a resolution comparable to that with polyacrylamide gels for fragments as small as 80-bp. Based on these results, all Campylobacter species studied had species-specific XspI and DdeI digestion patterns, with one exception, namely, that DdeI could not distinguish between C. concisus and C. sputorum. Thus, PCR-RFLP analysis using either DdeI and XspI enzymes, or both, is a valuable tool for accurate discrimination of Campylobacter species. In addition, a computer analysis using the DNASIS program predicted unambiguous identification of the 12 species of Campylobacter by digestion of the gyrB 900-bp region with the restriction enzymes, MboI and HindIII in combination, as a double digestion. This was confirmed experimentally with the 900 bp of PCR product (FIG. 5)

Example 5 PCR with Campylobacter Species-Specific Primers and Specificity Testing

Species-specific primer sets for 12 Campylobacter species used in this study were designed based on regions that were dissimilar among the different species. PCR assays with species-specific primers were performed as follows for identification of each Campylobacter species. Template DNA (2.5 μl) diluted 1/10 with sterile distilled water was amplified in a 25-μl reaction volume containing 1× GeneAmp PCR Gold buffer, 0.5 U of AmpliTaq Gold DNA polymerase (Applied Biosystems), 200 μM each of the four dNTPs, and 0.2 μM each of the species-specific primers. The cycling conditions for C. jejuni, C. lari, C. concisus, C. showae, C. curvus, C. fetus, and C. helveticus were the following: initial denaturation at 95° C. for 10 min and 30 cycles of 95° C. for 20 sec, 69° C. for 20 sec, and a final extension for 7 min at 72° C. For C. upsaliensis, C. mucosalis, and for C. hyointestinalis, the annealing time and temperature were 68° C. for 1 min, respectively, and for C. sputorum they were 65° C. for 20 sec, respectively. Cycling conditions were used for amplification of DNA from the different species to obtain an optimal amount of PCR product. The PCR products were analyzed using 2% agarose gel electrophoresis as described above. Primer specificity was evaluated by testing each PCR assay specific for the 12 different Campylobacter spp. using genomic DNA from each of the bacteria listed in Table 1. The PCR conditions were the same as those described above, and the PCR products were visualized following agarose gel electrophoresis (2%) and staining with ethidium bromide. All species-specific primers were designed to have similar melting temperatures and to generate PCR products less than 500-bp in length for high PCR efficiency. The species-specific primer sequences and the expected amplicon sizes are shown in Table 4.

PCR assays using these primers yielded products ranging in size from 86 to 493 bp following amplification of DNA from the different Campylobacter spp. These primer sets were specific and amplified the expected PCR product only in each of the respective target Campylobacter species (FIG. 6), with no false-positive results using DNA from the non-target Campylobacter species (FIG. 7). Furthermore, non-specific bands were not observed with DNA from non-Campylobacter strains tested (strains listed in Table 1). Thus, the species-specific primer sets based on gyrB sequences could be very useful for rapid detection and direct identification of Campylobacter species by the PCR.

Nucleotide Sequence Accession Numbers

The gyrB gene sequences determined in this study have been deposited in the DDBJ nucleotide sequence database under the following accession numbers: C. jejuni gyrB, AB123456; C. coli gyrB, AB123456; C. concisus gyrB, AB123456; C. curvus gyrB, AB123456; C. showae gyrB, AB123456; C. mucosalis gyrB, AB123456; C. fetus gyrB, AB123456; C. fetus fetus gyrB, AB123456; C. fetus venerealis gyrB, AB123456; C. hyointestinalis gyrB, AB123456; C. sputorum sputorum gyrB, AB123456; C. helveticus gyrB, AB123456; C. upsaliensis gyrB, AB123456; and C. lari gyrB, AB123456.

All publications and patents mentioned in this specification are herein incorporated by reference to the same extent as if each individual publication or patent was specifically and individually indicated to be incorporated by reference.

The foregoing description and certain representative embodiments and details of the invention have been presented for purposes of illustration and description of the invention. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise forms disclosed. It will be apparent to practitioners skilled in this art that modifications and variations may be made therein without departing from the scope of the invention.

TABLE 4 PCR primers targeting gyrB for Campylobacter species-specific identification. Amplicon Strain name Forward primer Reverse primer length Location C. jejuni SEQ ID NO: 29 SEQ ID NO: 30 493  84-576 NADC^(a) 5096 AGAATGGGTTTAACTCGTCTGATAAGT TACCACGCAAAGGCAGTATAGCT C. coli SEQ ID NQ: 31 SEQ ID NO: 32 96 125-220 NADC 5095 AAATGCTAGTGCTA GGGAAAAAGACCTCT TGAGGITCAGGCACTTTTACACTTACTAC C. concisus SEQ ID NO: 33 SEQ ID NO: 34 217  86-302 ATCC^(a) 33237 AGCGGGCCTAACAAGAGTTATTACA TGTAAGCACGTCAAAAACCATCTTT C. curvus SEQ ID NQ: 35 SEQ ID NQ: 36 108 458-565 ATCC 35224 CTGCCAAAGTAAGGACGCAAGTATA GGCAAGATCGCCTGAAATACG C. showae SEQ ID NO: 37 SEQ ID NO: 38 86 415-500 ATCC 51146 AGGGTTTAAGCATAGGAACGCTG CACCAGATAAAGCTCGCTGATCG C. mucosalis SEQ ID NO: 39 SEQ ID NO: 40 224 335-558 ATCC 49352 TGCCATTATGAACAAGGCCCTA TCGCTTGAAACACACGGTCA C. fetus fetus SEQ ID NO: 41 SEQ ID NO: 42 482  84-565 ATCC 15296 AGAGCTGGGCTTACAAGAGCTATTACA GGTAAAATCGCTTGAAACGCTCTAT C. hyointestinalis SEQ ID NO: 43 SEQ ID NO: 44 108 272-379 ATCC 35217 CGGTCAAAAGATGACTTTTGAAGTACTT GCTTCCCTGCCACGAGCT C. sputorm SEQ ID NO: 45 SEQ ID NO: 46 94 350-443 sputorum AGCTTTACTTGCTGCAAGAGGAAGA AGGAAGCGTTCCAACAGAAAAGTT ATCC 33562 C. helveticus SEQ ID NO: 47 SEQ ID NQ;48 176  38-213 ATCC 51210 CAATAACATACGCACACCAGATGGA CAGGCACTTTAACGCTCACTATGG C. upsaliensis SEQ ID NO: 49 SEQ ID NO: 50 250  92-341 ATCC 49016 GCTTACGCGTGTAATTACAAACTATGTC AATTGCCTTAGCCTCGATAGGG C. lari SEQ ID NO: 51 SEQ ID NO: 52 261 257-517 ATCC 35221 CTATGTTCGTCCTATAGTTTCTAAGGTTC CCAGCACTATCCACCCTCAACTAAATAA ^(a)NADC, National Animal Disease Center; ATTC, American Type Culture Collection. 

1: A method of speciating Campylobacter by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP), said method comprising: a) providing DNA of Campylobacter or a test sample suspected of containing DNA of said Campylobacter, b) amplifying a target sequence of DNA of said Campylobacter using a mixture of primer sets wherein the mixture comprises oligonucleotide primers complementary to the gyrB sequence of particular Campylobacter species; namely, C. jejuni wherein said primer set comprises CGTCAAGAATTTTCAGAA GGTAAAGTTATC (SEQ ID NO:5) and TATAGCTTGGAAAGATCTTTCCCTACC TTG (SEQ ID NO: 6), C. coli wherein said primer set comprises CGCCAAGAA TTTTCAGAAGGTAAAGTCATC (SEQ ID NO:7) and TATAGCTTGAAAAGATCT TTCTCTACCTTG (SEQ ID NO:8), C. concisus wherein said primer set comprises AGACAAGAATTTGCAAAAGGTATCCCTCAA (SEQ ID NO:9) and AATCGCTTGAAAAGATCTTTCTCTTCCTTG (SEQ ID NO: 10), C. curvus wherein said primer set comprises AGGCAAGAATTTCAAAAAGGTATCCCG GTA (SEQ ID NO:11) and TATCGCCTGAAAAACTCTATCACGTCCTTG (SEQ ID NO: 12), C. showae wherein said primer set comprises AGACAAGAATTTTCA AAAGGTATCCCTCAA (SEQ ID NO: 13) and GATCGCCTGAAATACGCGGTC GCGTCCTTG (SEQ ID NO: 14), C. mucosalis wherein said primer set comprises AGGCAAGAATTTGCAAAAGGAATTCCAGTA (SEQ ID NO: 15) and AATCGC TTGAAATACTCTATCGCGTCCTTG (SEQ ID NO: 16), C. fetus fetus wherein said primer set comprises CGTCAAGAGTTTTCAAAAGGAATACCCCAA (SEQ ID NO: 17) and AATCGCTTGAAACACACGGTCACGACCCTG (SEQ ID NO: 18), C. hyointestinalis wherein said primer set comprises CGCCAAGAATTC GCCGAAGGCATACCTCAA (SEQ ID NO: 19) and AATCGCTTGAAACGC TCTATCACGACCTTG (SEQ ID NO: 20), C. sputorum sputorum wherein said primer set comprises AGACAAGAGTTTTCAAAAGGTGTTCCTACA (SEQ ID NO: 21) and TATCGCTTGAAATGCTCTATCACGACCTTG (SEQ ID NO: 2.2), C. helveticus wherein said primer set comprises AGACAAGAATTTTCTAAAGGT CTAATTGCA (SEQ ID NO: 23) and GATGGCTTGAAAAACTCTATTTCTACC TTG (SEQ ID NO: 24), C. upsaliensis wherein said primer set comprises CGCCAAGAATTTGCTAAAGGGCAAATAGCT (SEQ ID NO: 25) and AATCGCTTGAAAAGCCCTTTCACGCCCCTG (SEQ ID NO:26), and C. lari wherein said primer set comprises AGACAAGAATTTTCAGAAGGAAAAGTA ACA (SEQ ID NO: 27) and AATAGCTTGAAAAGTTCTTTCTCTACCTTG (SEQ ID NO: 28); c) obtaining amplification products of the target sequence of DNA as an indication of the presence of Campylobacter species; d) digesting the DNA amplification products obtained by PCR with the restriction enzymes DdeI or XspI; e) analyzing the restriction fragment length polymorphisms resulting from said digesting step by gel electrophoresis; and f) differentiating species and strains of Campylobacter by their RFLP patterns. 2: The method of claim 1 wherein in step d) the DNA amplification products are digested with the restriction enzymes MboI and HindIII in combination, as a double digestion. 3: A method of speciating Campylobacter by direct polymerase chain reaction, said method comprising: a) providing DNA of Campylobacter or a test sample suspected of containing DNA of said Campylobacter; b) amplifying a target sequence of DNA of said Campylobacter using species-specific primer sets complementary to the gyrB sequence of particular Campylobacter species; namely, C. jejuni wherein said primer set comprises AGAATGGGTTTAACTCGTGTGATAAGT (SEQ ID NO:29) and TACCACGCAAAGGCAGTATAGCT (SEQ ID NO: 30), C. coli wherein said primer set comprises AAATGCTAGTGCTAGGGAAAAAGACTCT (SEQ ID NO:31) and TGAGGTTCAGGCACTTTTACACTTACTAC (SEQ ID NO:32), C. concisus wherein said primer set comprises AGCGGGCCTAACAAGAGTTAT TACA (SEQ ID NO:33) and TGTAAGCACGTCAAAAACCATCTTT (SEQ ID NO: 34), C. curvus wherein said primer set comprises CTGCCAAAGTAAGGACGCA AGTATA (SEQ ID NO:35) and GGCAAGATCGCCTGAAATACG (SEQ ID NO: 36); C. showae wherein said primer set comprises AGGGTTTAAGCATAGGA ACGCTG (SEQ ID NO: 37) and CACCAGATAAAGCTCGCTGATCG (SEQ ID NO: 38), C. mucosalis wherein said primer set comprises TGCGATTATGAA CAAGGCCCTA (SEQ ID NO: 39) and TCGCTTGAAACACACGGTCA (SEQ ID NO: 40), C. fetus fetus wherein said primer set comprises AGAGCTGGGCTT ACAAGAGCTATTACA (SEQ ID NO: 41) and GGTAAAATCGCTTGAAACGCTC TAT (SEQ ID NO: 42), C. hyointestinalis CGGTCAAAAGATGACTTTTGAAGTA CTT (SEQ ID NO: 43) and GCTTCCCTGCCACGAGCT (SEQ ID NO: 44), C. sputorum sputorum wherein said primer set comprises AGCTTTACTTGCTGC AAGAGGAAGA (SEQ ID NO: 45) and AGGAAGCGTTCCAACAGAAAAGTT (SEQ ID NO: 46), C. helveticus wherein said primer set comprises CAATAACAT ACGCACACCAGATGGA (SEQ ID NO: 47) and CAGGCACTTTAACGCTCACTA TGG (SEQ ID NO: 48), C. upsaliensis wherein said primer set comprises GCT TACGCGTGTAATTACAAACTATGTC (SEQ ID NO: 49) and AATTGCCTTAGC CTCGATAGGG (SEQ ID NO: 50) and C. lari CTATGTTCGTCCTATAGTTTC TAAGGCTTC (SEQ ID NO: 51) and CCAGCACTATCACCCTCAACTAAATAA (SEQ ID NO: 52); and c) rapidly detecting the presence of amplification products of the target sequence of DNA and directly identifying the presence of a particular species of Campylobacter. 4: The method of claim 3, wherein amplification takes place under real-time PCR conditions and the amplification products are detected and quantitated by real-time analysis. 5: A kit for speciating Campylobacter by direct PCR, said kit comprising a mixture of primer sets wherein the mixture comprises oligonucleotide primers complementary to the gyrB sequence of particular Campylobacter species and capable of speciating Campylobacter following PCR-RFLP, namely, a primer set mixture comprising CGTCAAGAATTTTCAGAAGGTAAAGTTATC (SEQ ID NO:5) and TATAGCTTGGAA AGATCTTTCCCTACCTTG (SEQ ID NO: 6) for C. jejuni, a primer set comprising CGCCAAGAATTTTCAGAAGGTAAAGTCATC (SEQ ID NO:7) and TATAGCTTGAAA AGATCTTTCTCTACCTTG (SEQ ID NO:8) for C. coli, a primer set comprising AGACAAGAATTTGC AAAAGGTATCCCTCAA (SEQ ID NO:9) and AATCGCTTGAAA AGATCTTTCTCTTCCTTG (SEQ ID NO: 10) for C. concisus, a primer set comprising AGGCAAGAATTTCAAAAAGGTATCCCGGTA (SEQ ID NO:11) and TATCGCCTGAAA AACTCTATCACGTCCTTG (SEQ ID NO: 12) for C. curvus, a primer set comprising AGACAAGAATTTTCAAAAGGTATCCCTCAA (SEQ ID NO: 13) and GATCGCCTGAAA TACGCGGTCGCGTCCTTG (SEQ ID NO: 14) for C. showae, a primer set comprising AGGCAAGAATTTGCAAAAGGAATTCCAGTA (SEQ ID NO: 15) and AATCGCTTGAAA TACTCTATCGCGTCCTTG (SEQ ID NO: 16) for C. mucosalis, a primer set comprising CGTCAAGAGTTTTCAAAAGGAATACCCCAA (SEQ ID NO: 17) and AATCGCTTGAAA CACACGGTCACGACCCTG (SEQ ID NO: 18) for C. fetus fetus, a primer set comprising CGCCAAGAATTCGCCGAAGGC ATACCTCAA (SEQ ID NO: 19) and AATCGCTTGAAACGCTCTATCACGACCTTG (SEQ ID NO: 20) for C. hyointestinalis, a primer set comprising AGACAAGAGTTTTCAAAAGGTGTTCCTACA (SEQ ID NO: 21) and TATCGCTTGAAATGCTCTATCACGACCTTG (SEQ ID NO: 22) for C. sputorum sputorum, a primer set comprising AGACAAGAATTTTCTAAAGGTCTAATTGCA (SEQ ID NO: 23) and GATGGCTTGAAAAACTCTATTTCTACCTTG (SEQ ID NO: 24) for C. helveticus, a primer set comprising CGCCAAGAATTTGCTAAAGGGCAAATAGCT (SEQ ID NO: 25) and AATCGCTTGAAAAGCCCTTTCACGCCCCTG (SEQ ID NO:26) for C. upsaliensis, and a primer set comprising AGACAAGAATTTTCAGAAGGAAAA GTAACA (SEQ ID NO: 27) and AATAGCTTGAAAAGTTCTTTCTCTACCTTG (SEQ ID NO: 28) for detecting C. lari, and the restriction enzymes DdeI, XspI, or the combination of MboI and HindIII, as a double digestion. 6: A kit for detecting and speciating at least twelve Campylobacter species by polymerase chain reaction, said kit comprising primers complementary to the gyrB sequence of particular Campylobacter species and capable of detecting the presence of particular species of Campylobacter, namely, a primer set comprising AGAATGGGT TTAACTCGTGTGATAAGT (SEQ ID NO:29) and TACCACGCAAAGGCAGTATAGCT (SEQ ID NO: 30) for C. jejuni, a primer set comprising AAATGCTAGTGCTAGGGAA AAAGACTCT (SEQ ID NO:31) and TGAGGTTCAGGCACTTTTACACTTACTAC (SEQ ID NO:32) for C. coli, a primer set comprising AGCGGGCCTAACAAGAGTTATTACA (SEQ ID NO:33) and TGTAAGCACGTCAAAAACCATCTTT (SEQ ID NO: 34) for C. concisus, a primer set comprising CTGCCAAAGTAAGGACGCAAGTATA (SEQ ID NO:35) and GGCAAGATCGCCTGAAATACG (SEQ ID NO: 36) for C. curvus, a primer set comprising AGGGTTTAAGCATAGGAACGCTG (SEQ ID NO: 37) and CACCAG ATAAAGCTCGCTGATCG (SEQ ID NO: 38) for C. showae, a primer set comprising TGCGATTATGAACAAGGCCCTA (SEQ ID NO: 39) and TCGCTTGAAACACACGG TCA (SEQ ID NO: 40) for C. mucosalis, a primer set comprising AGAGCTGGGCTT ACAAGAGCTATTACA (SEQ ID NO: 41) and GGTAAAATCGCTTGAAACGCTCTAT (SEQ ID NO: 42) for C. fetus fetus, a primer set comprising CGGTCAAAAGATGAC TTTTGAAGTACTT (SEQ ID NO: 43) and GCTTCCCTGCCACGAGCT (SEQ ID NO: 44) for C. hyointestinalis, a primer set comprising AGCTTTACTTGCTGCAAGAGG AAGA (SEQ ID NO: 45) and AGGAAGCGTTCCAACAGAAAAGTT (SEQ ID NO: 46) for C. sputorum sputorum, a primer set comprising CAATAACATACGCACACCAGATGGA (SEQ ID NO: 47) and CAGGCACTTTAACGCTCACTATGG (SEQ ID NO: 48) for C. helveticus, a primer set comprising GCTTACGCGTGTAATTACAAACTATGTC (SEQ ID NO: 49) and AATTGCCTTAGCCTCGATAGGG (SEQ ID NO:50) for C. upsaliensis, and a primer set comprising CTATGTTCGTCCTATAGTTTCTAAGGCTTC (SEQ ID NO: 51) and CCAGCACTATCACCCTCAACTAAATAA (SEQ ID NO: 52) for C. lari. 7: The method of any one of claims 1-2, wherein amplification takes place under real-time PCR conditions and the amplification products are detected and quantitated by real-time analysis. 